Thaindian News

Maheshtala (West Bengal), March 8 (IANS) Striking a note of self-criticism ahead of the West Bengal Assembly polls, Chief Minister and senior Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Tuesday declared that if party workers are found involved in incidents like the Netai village carnage, they will not be spared.

“If we find that party workers or leaders have made mistakes at Netai or during other incidents, they will not be spared,” Bhattacharjee said addressing his first election meetings in the state after the announcement of the assembly poll dates.

Nine people, including four women, were killed and 28 others injured in the Jan 7 clashes triggered by assailants allegedly backed by the ruling Marxists in Netai near the Maoist stronghold Lalgarh in West Midnapore district.

Addressing voters in Maheshtala of South 24 Parganas, Bhattacharjee said main opposition Trinamool Congress had done well in the recent polls not because they have done good work, but because of mistakes committed by the CPI-M, the driving force of the state’s Left Front government.

“How did Trinamool get so many votes in the Lok Sabha and the civic elections? They have not done any good work. We made mistakes. So people turned against us.

“We have to rectify. We have undertaken a rectification campaign. We have expelled a lot of workers,” he said, urging party workers to go to the people and listen to their problems.

“And they must work for the people. We made some mistakes. We are discussing where we made mistakes. We have to go to people. We have to tell people we have taken corrective measures.

“Those who can rectify do it, those who can’t pleas go (from our party),” Bhattacharjee said addressing another meeting at his assembly constituency Jadavpur.

The Trinamool Congress in partnership with the Congress and the Socialist Unity Centre of India - Communist (SUCI-C) decimated the Left Front by bagging 26 of the 42 seats in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls. Last year, the Trinamool kept up the winning momentum inflicting crushing blows on the Left Front in civic polls and assembly by-elections.

The six-phase polls in the state, ruled by the Left front since 1977, will be held on April 18, 23, 27 and May 3, 7 and 10.

The Left Front, regarded as the longest surviving communist-led regime in a multi-party set up, is facing its stiffest ever challenge in the coming polls.